c/diy-home-projects

My grandpa's old wooden hand plane from the 50s vs. that plastic handled one I got at the big box store last year

The old one took me an hour to sharpen and set up right, but it sliced through some oak like butter and left a finish I didn't even need to sand, while the new one chattered and left gouges no matter how tight I cranked the adjustment knob - has anyone else noticed how much better the older tools actually work once you learn them?

Tried to fix a squeaky floorboard last Tuesday and ended up drilling into a water pipe instead

I was just trying to stop that annoying noise in the hallway of my 1950s ranch house in St. Louis, but now I've got a wet spot on the ceiling downstairs and a plumber coming tomorrow, has anyone else had a simple DIY job turn into a disaster like that?

PSA: That one Saturday last month when I tried to save $50 by not renting a drywall lift

I was hanging 12 foot sheets in my basement in Austin and thought I could just muscle it up with a buddy. By the third sheet my back was screaming and we dropped a corner right through the floor register. Spent $140 on the lift for Sunday and finished the whole room in 4 hours, no sweat. Has anyone else learned this lesson the hard way or am I just stubborn?

Shoutout to the guy who told me my tile spacing was way off

I was grouting my kitchen backsplash in Phoenix last month and some random neighbor walked over and said my 1/8 inch gaps would look crooked. He had me pull a few tiles and reset them with 3/16 spacers, and yeah, the difference is huge. Anyone else get unsolicited advice that actually saved a project?

Warning: never hang drywall parallel on a ceiling joist in a 1970s house

Bought a flip in Denver last spring, hung the sheets longways on the joists like I always do, and the whole damn ceiling sagged 2 inches by summer because the joists were 26 inches apart not 24 - anyone else run into weird spacing in old houses?

Changed my mind about spray foam insulation after helping my brother in his attic in Austin last July.

I always thought the DIY foam kits were a scam, too expensive for what they do. But my brother was redoing his 1920s bungalow in Austin and talked me into helping him foam his attic. It was 104 degrees outside and we were up there sweating, and he had this infrared thermometer. Before we sealed anything, the attic temp was like 135 degrees. After we sprayed the rakes and between the joists, it dropped to under 100 in about an hour. That convinced me. The air seal is way better than fiberglass because it fills every tiny crack. I still think the cleanup is a nightmare though, sticky foam gets everywhere. Has anyone else had good luck with the tiger claw foam guns or are the disposable cans fine for a small garage job?

I finally got my basement wall straight enough for drywall

Spent a whole Saturday shimming out studs on a 120 year old foundation wall. Ended up using 47 shims just to get within 1/4 inch over 12 feet. Did anyone else find that old houses just refuse to be square no matter what you do?

Tried to fix a leaky pipe with flex tape and flooded my kitchen instead

I was under the sink last Tuesday around 8pm, that little drip was driving me nuts for weeks. Grabbed a roll of flex tape from the garage, figured it would hold for a day or two until I could get a real fitting. Wrapped it around a pvc joint about three times, felt pretty confident. Walked away for 20 minutes to make dinner, came back to water spraying everywhere like a fountain. The tape had peeled off completely and the pipe cracked a bit more from the pressure. Ended up ripping out the whole cabinet bottom and spending $45 at Lowe's on new pvc pieces and a coupling. My wife still brings it up when I mention any DIY fix. Anyone else had a product fail that spectacularly on a simple job?

TIL you can fix a squeaky floor with baby powder and a shop vac

So I had this spot in my hallway near the bathroom that would creak every time you stepped on it. Drove me nuts for like 6 months. I tried those screw-in floor repair kits from Home Depot but they left little holes and the noise came back after a week. Then my dad mentioned something he saw on a old This Old House episode - you sprinkle baby powder over the gap between floorboards, then use a shop vac on the other side to pull it down into the joint. I tried it last Saturday and I swear to god the squeak is completely gone. I even jumped on it a few times. Has anyone else got a weird trick for old wood floors that actually works?

Paint sprayer or roller for kitchen cabinets? Had to redo mine after I realized I was using the wrong nap the whole time.

Hit 500 square feet of drywall mudding this weekend and finally got why pros use a bazooka

I've been taping and mudding my basement myself, and after covering 500 square feet by hand with a 10 inch knife, my wrist started aching bad enough I couldn't grip a coffee cup Sunday morning. Has anyone here used one of those automatic taper tools, or is it overkill for a one-room job?

Just found out my outlet covers were all installed upside down for 6 years

Was swapping out a switch plate in the kitchen last night and realized the little slot at the bottom is supposed to be at the top to prevent dust falling in. Checked every single one in the house and they're all flipped. Has anyone else ever noticed this or am I just late to the party?

Hot take: I used to piss away money on expensive paint rollers, now I just use the cheap foam ones

For years I was buying those fancy microfiber roller covers at $8 a pop for my living room repaints. About 6 months ago I grabbed a pack of 10 foam rollers for $4 at the hardware store on a whim. They apply paint way smoother with zero lint or fuzz left behind. Has anyone else swapped to foam and never looked back?

That time a hardware store guy said to use construction adhesive on my shower niche

Last month when I was building a shower niche into my bathroom reno, this older employee at Lowe's in Portland told me to just skip the screws and use PL Premium on the backer board instead. I was skeptical but tried it on one section, and three days later when the adhesive was fully cured that piece was way more solid than the screwed-in parts. Anyone else ever get handed a random tip from a store employee that actually worked better than the standard method?

PSA: my attempt to paint over old wallpaper went horribly wrong

I tried painting straight over the floral wallpaper in my 1950s Denver bathroom last weekend, thinking a thick primer would seal it just fine. By Tuesday morning the paper was bubbling up in three spots and one corner literally peeled off onto my toothbrush. Has anyone else dealt with wallpaper that just refuses to cooperate, or did I miss a step here?

My old Stanley plane vs the new one I bought last year

Picked up a beat up Stanley No. 4 at a flea market in Ohio for 15 bucks. Spent a weekend cleaning and sharpening it. Cuts smoother than the 80 dollar modern plane I bought from the hardware store. Anyone else find old tools outwork the new stuff?

A neighbor's blunt comment about my crooked fence changed my whole approach to post setting

I spent a whole weekend digging holes and setting fence posts for a new privacy fence in my backyard. My neighbor came over, looked at the first three posts, and said "you know those are all leaning left, right?" I was annoyed at first, but I stepped back and saw he was dead on. He told me to use a longer level and check every post from two directions before the concrete set. Now I do that on every project and my fence actually looks professional. Has anyone else had a neighbor save them from a shoddy DIY job?

Finally tried that two-part epoxy for a cracked porch step after years of doubt

I had a step on my front porch that was split down the middle for about 2 years. A buddy at the station kept pushing this Loctite epoxy stick, so last weekend I gave it a shot. Has anyone else had good luck with epoxy on outdoor concrete cracks, or is it more of a temporary fix?

Do old solid wood doors beat modern hollow core ones or is it just nostalgia?

I redid my hallway last month and swapped out three 1950s solid oak doors for new hollow core ones from the big box store. The old doors were heavy, had cool panel detailing, but took me forever to sand and repaint. New ones went up in 20 minutes each and look clean but feel kind of flimsy when you close them. My wife says the old ones had more character and kept noise down better, while I like that the new ones don't swell in humidity. What's your take on this debate after trying both?

Debated between white and gray grout for my kitchen backsplash, picked white and now I'm scrubbing it every other week.

The gray would have hidden the coffee stains from my morning pour-over, but my wife said white looked cleaner; has anyone else regretted a grout color choice based on looks alone?

My father in law swore by using a heat gun for stripping old paint, and I was skeptical for years

For a long time I used chemical strippers on my 1920s bungalow windows in Portland, and it was a mess every time. Last month I finally borrowed his Wagner heat gun on a set of six window frames, and the paint came off clean in about 90 minutes total. Has anyone had bad experiences with heat guns warping the wood, or am I just lucky so far?

My dad's advice about painting kitchen cabinets finally paid off

He told me to sand between every coat of primer and paint, even though it felt like overkill on our oak cabinets from the 80s. After 3 months of daily use, the finish on that one drawer I skipped is already chipping while the rest looks brand new. Anybody else have a family member's tip that turned out to be totally right?

That one piece of feedback from my old boss that stuck with me

I had a guy named Pete who ran a crew for 30 years tell me I was pressing too hard with the roller on ceilings. He said just let the paint do the work and feather it out light. I changed my whole technique after that and now I don't get those lap marks anymore. Has anyone else had a simple tip completely change how they paint?

Went to a hardware store in Portland and noticed every display shelf was crooked

I was at a Fred Meyer on Division last weekend grabbing some paint samples and I couldn't stop staring at their DIY display aisle. Every shelf bracket was visibly sagging, like someone installed them with a level that was off by a good 3 degrees. The caulk tubes were all rolling toward the back edge of the shelf. Has anyone else run into a store that just gave up on basic shelving and does it bug you as much as it bugged me?

Best motorized ceiling lifts for DIY setup?

My garage floor is a disaster. I want to utilize the ceiling space for my bikes and heavy seasonal boxes. Does anyone have recommendations for a good motorized lift system I can order and put up myself?